Impact of aerobic granular sludge sizes and dissolved oxygen concentration on greenhouse gas N2O emission

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are known to produce nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas which has a ∼300 times higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide. In this research, we studied N2O emissions from different sizes of AGS developed at a dissolved oxygen (DO) level of 2 mgO2/L while exposing them to disturbances at various DO concentrations ranging from 1 to 4 mgO2/L. Five different AGS size classes were studied: 212-600 µm, 600-1000 µm, 1000-1400 µm, 1400-2000 µm, and > 2000 µm. Metagenomic data showed N2O reductase genes (nosZ) were more abundant in the smaller AGS sizes which aligned with the observation of higher N2O reduction rates in small AGS under anaerobic conditions. However, when oxygen was present, the activity measurements of N2O emission showed an opposite trend compared to metagenomic data, smaller AGS (212 to 1000 µm) emitted significantly higher N2O (p < 0.05) than larger AGS (1000 µm to >2000 µm) at DO of 2, 3, and 4 mgO2/L. The N2O emission rate showed positive correlation with both oxygen levels and nitrification rate. This pattern indicates a connection between N2O emission and nitrification. In addition, the data suggested the penetration of oxygen into the anoxic zone of granules might have hindered nitrous oxide reduction, resulting in incomplete denitrification stopping at N2O and consequently contributing to an increase in N2O emissions. This work sets the stage to better understand the impacts of AGS size on N2O emissions in WWTPs under different disturbance of DO conditions, and thus ensure that wastewater treatment will comply with possible future regulations demanding lowering greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change.

Novel self-stratifying bioelectrochemical system for municipal wastewater treatment halves nitrous oxide emissions

Reducing carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions are prime global goals. Wastewater treatment contributes significantly, and this study developed a technology with a focus on utilisation in small-decentralised plants. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) utilise bacteria to remove pollutants while generating power and a range of experiments were performed to investigate their suitability compared to conventional trickling filters. A lab-based trickling filter was inferior to one adapted with electrodes both in terms of organic matter (COD) and phosphate reduction, but the BES did not generate electrical output due to inferior cathode configuration. An enhanced, novel, dual-BES system was developed with improved cathode positioning and operated as a cascade. This demonstrated improved COD (79 %) and total nitrogen (102 %) removal over the trickling filter. Concomitantly it emitted 47 % less N2O and generated an electrical output of 0.62 mA at 311 mV. Further work is needed to optimise BES but these results are encouraging in the development of sustainable biotechnologies.

Rainwater input reduces greenhouse gas emission and arsenic uptake in paddy rice systems

This work aimed to test the hypothesis that rainwater-borne hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can affect arsenic uptake by rice plants and emission of greenhouse gases in paddy rice systems. A mesocosm rice plant growth experiment, in conjunction with rainwater monitoring, was conducted to examine the effects of rainwater input on functional groups of soil microorganisms related to transformation of arsenic, carbon and nitrogen as well as various arsenic species in the soil and plant systems. The fluxes of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were measured during selected rainfall events. The results showed that rainwater-borne H2O2 effectively reacted with Fe2+ present in paddy soil to trigger a Fenton-like reaction to produce •OH. Both H2O2 and •OH inhibited As(V)-reducing microbes but promoted As(III)-oxidizing microbes, leading to a net increase in arsenate-As that is less phytoavailable compared to arsenite-As. This impeded uptake of soil-borne As by the rice plant roots, and consequently reduced the accumulation of As in the rice grains. The input of H2O2 into the soil caused more inhibition to methanogens than to methane-oxidizing microbes, resulting in a reduction in CH4 flux. The microbes mediating the transformation of inorganic nitrogen were also under oxidative stresses upon exposure to the rainwater-derived H2O2. And the limited conversion of NO3- to NO played a crucial role in reducing N2O emission from the paddy soils. The results also indicated that the rainwater-borne H2O2 could significantly affect other biogeochemical processes that shape the wider ecosystems, which is worth further investigations.

Advance in the sulfur-based electron donor autotrophic denitrification for nitrate nitrogen removal from wastewater

In the field of wastewater treatment, nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) is one of the significant contaminants of concern. Sulfur autotrophic denitrification technology, which uses a variety of sulfur-based electron donors to reduce NO3--N to nitrogen (N2) through sulfur autotrophic denitrification bacteria, has emerged as a novel nitrogen removal technology to replace heterotrophic denitrification in the field of wastewater treatment due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, and high nitrogen removal efficiency. This paper reviews the advance of reduced sulfur compounds (such as elemental sulfur, sulfide, and thiosulfate) and iron sulfides (such as ferrous sulfide, pyrrhotite, and pyrite) electron donors for treating NO3--N in wastewater by sulfur autotrophic denitrification technology, including the dominant bacteria types and the sulfur autotrophic denitrification process based on various electron donors are introduced in detail, and their operating costs, nitrogen removal performance and impacts on the ecological environment are analyzed and compared. Moreover, the engineering applications of sulfur-based electron donor autotrophic denitrification technology were comprehensively summarized. According to the literature review, the focus of future industry research were discussed from several aspects as well, which would provide ideas for the application and optimization of the sulfur autotrophic denitrification process for deep and efficient removal of NO3--N in wastewater.

Effect of nitrous oxide (N2O) on the structure and function of nitrogen-oxide reducing microbial communities

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas that can be produced by nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. Yet the effects of N₂O on microbial communities is not well understood. We used batch tests to explore the effects of N₂O on mixed denitrifying communities. Batch tests were carried out with acetate as the electron donor and with the following electron acceptors: nitrate (NO₃^-), nitrite (NO₂^-), N₂O, NO₃^- + N₂O, and NO₂^- + N₂O. Activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was used as the inoculum. The bacteria grew readily with N₂O as the sole acceptor. When N₂O was provided along with NO₃^- or NO₂^-, it was used concurrently and resulted in higher growth rates than the same acceptors without added N₂O. The microbial communities resulting from N₂O addition were significantly different at the genus level from those with just NO₃^- or NO₂^-. Tests with N₂O as the sole added acceptor revealed a reduced diversity. Analysis of inferred gene content using PICRUSt2 indicated a greater abundance of genera with a complete denitrification pathway when growing on N₂O or NO₂^-, relative to all other tests. This suggests that specific N₂O reduction rates are high, and that N₂O alone selects for a low-diversity, fully denitrifying community. When N₂O is present with NO₂^- or NO₃^-, the microbial communities were more diverse and did not select exclusively for full denitrifiers. N₂O alone appears to select for a "generalist" community with full denitrification pathways and lower diversity. In terms of denitrification genes, the combination of acceptors with N₂O appeared to increase the number of microbes carrying nirK, while fully denitrifying bacteria appear more likely to carry nirS. Lastly, all the taxa in NO₂^- and N₂O samples were predicted to harbor nosZ. This suggests the potential for reduced N₂O emissions in denitrifying systems.

Lab-scale data and microbial community structure suggest shortcut nitrogen removal as the predominant nitrogen removal mechanism in post-aerobic digestion (PAD)

Implementing an aerobic digestion step after anaerobic digestion, referred to as "post aerobic digestion" (PAD), can remove ammonia without the need for an external carbon source and destroy volatile solids. While this process has been documented at the lab-scale and full-scale, the mechanism for N removal and the corresponding microbial community that carries out this process have not been established. This research gap is important to fill because the nitrogen removal pathway has implications on aeration requirements and carbon demand, that is, short-cut N-removal requires less oxygen and carbon than simultaneous nitrification-denitrification. The aims of this research were to (i) determine if nitrite (NO₂ ^- ) or nitrate (NO₃ ^- ) dominates following ammonia removal and (ii) characterize the microbial community from PAD reactors. Here, lab-scale PAD reactors were seeded with biomass from two different full-scale PAD reactors. The lab-scale reactors were fed with biomass from full-scale reactors and operated in batch mode to quantify nitrogen species concentrations (ammonia, NH₄ ⁺ , NO₂ ^- , and NO₃ ^- ) over time. Experimental results revealed that NO₂ ^- production rates were several orders of magnitude greater than NO₃ ^- production rates. Indeed, nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) was greater than 90% at most temperatures, confirming that shortcut nitrogen removal was the dominant NH₄ ⁺ removal mechanism in PAD. Microbial community analysis via 16S rRNA sequencing indicated that ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were much more abundant than nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Overall, this study suggests that aeration requirements for post-aerobic digestion should be based on NO₂ ^- shunt and not complete simultaneous nitrification denitrification. PRACTITIONER POINTS: AOB are a key feature of PAD microbial communities NOB are present, but in much lower abundance than AOB High nitrite accumulation ratio suggests shortcut nitrite as the main mechanism for nitrogen removal Nitritation in PAD reactors is sustained at temperatures as high as 40°C No ammonia oxidation occurred at 50°C implying different mechanisms of nitrogen removal including ammonia stripping.

Various electron donors for biological nitrate removal: A review

Nitrate (NO₃^-) pollution in water and wastewater has become a serious global issue. Biological denitrification, which reduces NO₃^- to N₂ (nitrogen gas) by denitrifying microorganisms, is an efficient and economical process for the removal of NO₃^- from water and wastewater. During the denitrification process, electron donor is required to provide electrons for reduction of NO₃^-. A variety of electron donors, including organic and inorganic compounds, can be used for denitrification. This paper reviews the state of the art of various electron donors used for biological denitrification. Depending on the types of electron donors, denitrification can be classified into heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification. Heterotrophic denitrification utilizes organic compounds as electron donors, including low-molecular-weight organics (e.g. acetate, methanol, glucose, benzene, methane, etc.) and high-molecular-weight organics (e.g. cellulose, polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, etc.); while autotrophic denitrification utilizes inorganic compounds as electron donors, including hydrogen (H₂), reduced sulfur compounds (e.g. sulfide, element sulfur and thiosulfate), ferrous iron (Fe²⁺), iron sulfides (e.g. FeS, Fe_1-xS and FeS₂), arsenite (As(Ш)) and manganese (Mn(II)). The biological denitrification processes and the representative denitrifying microorganisms are summarized based on different electron donors, and their denitrification performance, operating costs and environmental impacts are compared and discussed. The pilot- or full-scale applications were summarized. The concluding remarks and future prospects were provided. The biodegradable polymers mediated heterotrophic denitrification, as well as H₂ and sulfur mediated autotrophic denitrification are promising denitrification processes for NO₃^- removal from various types of water and wastewater.

Model predicted N2O production from membrane-aerated biofilm reactor is greatly affected by biofilm property settings

Even though modeling has been frequently used to understand the autotrophic deammonification-based membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), the relationships between system-specific biofilm property settings and model predicted N₂O production have yet to be clarified. To this end, this study investigated the impacts of 4 key biofilm property settings (i.e., biofilm thickness/compactness, boundary layer thickness, diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure, and biofilm discretization) on one-dimensional modeling of the MABR, with the focus on its N₂O production. The results showed that biofilm thickness/compactness (200-1000 μm), diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure (reduction factor of diffusivity: 0.2-0.9), and biofilm discretization (12-28 grid points) significantly influenced the simulated N₂O production, while boundary layer thickness (0-300 μm) only played a marginal role. In the studied ranges of biofilm property settings, distinct upper and lower bounds of N₂O production factor (i.e., the percentage ratio of N₂O formed to NH₄⁺ removed, 5.5% versus 2.3%) could be predicted. In addition to the microbial community structure, the N₂O production pathway contribution differentiation was also subject to changes in biofilm property settings. Therefore, biofilm properties need to be quantified experimentally or set properly to model N₂O production from the MABR correctly. As a good practice for one-dimensional modeling of N₂O production from biofilm-based reactors, especially the MABR performing autotrophic deammonification, the essential information about those influential biofilm property settings identified in this study should be disclosed and clearly documented, thus ensuring both the reproducibility of modeling results and the reliable applications of N₂O models.

A computational model for the catalytic hydrogel membrane reactor

The catalytic hydrogel membrane reactor (CHMR) is a promising new technology for hydrogenation of aqueous contaminants in drinking water. It offers numerous benefits over conventional three-phase reactors, including immobilization of nano-catalysts, high reactivity, and control over the hydrogen (H₂) supply concentration. In this study, a computational model of the CHMR was developed using AQUASIM and calibrated with 32 experimental datasets for a nitrite (NO₂^-)-reducing CHMR using palladium (Pd) nano-catalysts (~4.6 nm). The model was then used to identify key factors impacting the behavior of the CHMR, including hydrogel catalyst density, H₂ supply pressure, influent and bulk NO₂^- concentrations, and hydrogel thickness. Based on the model calibration, the reaction rate constants for the NO₂^- steady-state adsorption Hinshelwood reaction equation, k₁ and k₂, were 0.0039 m³ mole-Pd^-1 s^-1 and 0.027 (mole-H₂ m³)^1/2 mole-Pd^-1 s^-1, respectively. The reactant flux, which is the overall NO₂^- removal rate for the CHMR, is affected by the NO₂^- reduction rate at each catalyst site, which is in turn controlled by the available NO₂^- and H₂ concentrations that are regulated by their mass transport behavior. Reactant transport in the CHMR is counter-diffusional. So for thick hydrogels, the concurrent concentrations of NO₂^- and H₂ are limiting in the middle region along the x-y plane of the hydrogel, which results in a low overall NO₂^- removal rate (i.e., flux). Thinner hydrogels provide higher concurrent reactant concentrations throughout the hydrogel, resulting in higher fluxes. However, if the hydrogel is too thin, the flux becomes limited by the amount of Pd that can be loaded, and unused H₂ can diffuse into the bulk and promote biofilm growth. The hydrogel thickness that maximized the NO₂^- flux ranged between 30 and 150 μm for the conditions tested. The computational model is the first to describe CHMR behavior, and it is an important tool for the further development of the CHMR. It also can be adapted to assess CHMR behavior for other contaminants or catalysts or used for other types of interfacial catalytic membrane reactors.

Influences of Longitudinal Heterogeneity on Nitrous Oxide Production from Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: A Modeling Perspective

As a promising technology for sustainable nitrogen removal from wastewater, the membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) performing autotrophic deammonification are faced with the problem of unwanted production of nitrous oxide (N₂O, a potent greenhouse gas). As a common tool to study N₂O production from such an MABR, the traditional one-dimensional modeling approach fails to simulate the existence of longitudinal gradients in the reactor and therefore might render N₂O production significantly deviated from reality. To this end, this work aims to study the influences of key longitudinal gradients (i.e., in oxygen, liquid-phase components, and biofilm thickness) on the N₂O production from a typical MABR performing autotrophic deammonification by applying a modified version of a newly developed compartmental model. Through comparing the modeling results of different reactor configurations, this work reveals that the single impact of the longitudinal gradients studied on the N₂O production from the MABR follows the order: oxygen (significant) > liquid-phase components (slight) > biofilm thickness (almost none). When multiple longitudinal gradients are present, they become correlated and would jointly influence the N₂O production and nitrogen removal of the MABR. The results also show the need for multispot measurements to get an accurate representation of spatial biofilm features of the MABR configuration with the membrane lumen designed/operated as a plug flow reactor. While the traditional modeling approach is acceptable to evaluate the nitrogen removal in most cases, it might overestimate or underestimate the N₂O production from the MABR with at least one of the longitudinal gradients in oxygen and liquid-phase components. For such an MABR, the longitudinal heterogeneity in biofilm thickness and the number of biofilm thickness classes to be included in the model would also make a difference to the simulation results, especially the N₂O production. The work also proposes that under the studied conditions, proper design/operation of the MABR in consideration of longitudinal heterogeneity has the theoretical potential of reducing the N₂O production by 77% without significantly compromising the nitrogen removal.

Impact of gas-water ratios on N2O emissions in biological aerated filters and analysis of N2O emissions pathways

Biological aerated filter (BAF) is a widely applied biofilm process for wastewater treatment. However, characteristics of nitrous oxide (N₂O) production in BAF are rarely reported. In this study, two tandem BAFs treating domestic wastewater were built up, and different gas-water ratios were controlled to explore N₂O production pathway. Results showed that N₂O production increased with increasing gas-water ratio in both BAFs; higher gas-water ratio promoted more N₂O releasing from hydroxylamine oxidation process. To improve nitrogen removal performance and reduce N₂O emission, the optimal gas-water ratios for BAF1 and BAF2 were 5:1 and 1.5:1, respectively. Most of N₂O was produced from ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) denitrification and hydroxylamine oxidation in BAF1, and heterotrophic denitrification contributed to relieve N₂O emission. In BAF2, N₂O was emitted from AOB denitrification and hydroxylamine oxidation by 87.8% and 12.2%, respectively. Heterotrophic denitrification is a N₂O sink in BAF, causing BAF1 produced less N₂O than BAF2 with the same gas-water ratio. Enhancing heterotrophic denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) activity could reduce the release of N₂O in BAFs.

The impact of biodegradable carbon sources on nutrients removal in post-denitrification biofilm reactors

Wastewater from households wastewater treatment plants (HWWTP) is discharged to the ground or to the surface waters. Special consideration should be given to the improvement of HWWTP effectiveness, particularly in relation to nutrients. The addition of biodegradable carbon sources to biofilm reactor, can enhance microbial activity but may also lead to filling clogging. The study aimed to compare 3 different organic substrates: acetic acid (commonly applied)and two untypical - citric acid and waste beer, under the same operational conditions in a post-denitrification biofilm reactor. The study investigated the impact of a type of organic substrate, low pH and time on: (1) biofilm growth, (2) the characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), (3) the kinetics of nutrients removal and (4) reactor clogging. Results were referred to (5) the effectiveness of nutrients removal. The study demonstrated that low pH assured the development of a thinbiofilm. Citric acid ensured the lowest biomass volume, being by 53% lower than in the reactor with acetic acid and by as much as 61% lower than in the reactor with waste beer. The soluble EPS fraction prevailed in the total EPS in all reactors. The content of the tightly bound EPS fraction ranged from 26.93% (citric acid) to 36.32% (waste beer). Investigations showed also a high ratio of exoproteins to polysaccharide in all fractions, which indicated a significant role of proteins in developing a highly-proliferating biofilm. The treated wastewater met requirements of Polish regulations concerning COD and nitrogen concentrations.

Silver nanoparticles and Fe(III) co-regulate microbial community and N2O emission in river sediments

The effects of environmental concentration silver nanoparticles (ecAgNPs) on microbial communities and the nitrogen cycling in river sediments remain largely uncharacterized. As a fundamental component of sediments, Fe(III) can interact with AgNPs and participate in nitrogen transformation processes. N₂O is an important intermediate in nitrogen transformation processes and can be a potent greenhouse gas with significant environmental effects. However, the impacts of the co-existence of AgNPs and Fe(III) on microbial communities and N₂O emission in river sediments are still unclear. In the present study, mesocosm experiments were conducted to assess the changes of microbial communities and N₂O emission in response to the co-existence of AgNPs and environmental concentration Fe(III). Our results revealed that the microbial community diversity and N₂O emission in river sediments responded differently to ecAgNPs (0.05 mg/kg) and high-polluting concentration AgNPs (hcAgNPs, 5 mg/kg), which was further regulated by the environmental concentration Fe(III) (1 mg/g and 10 mg/g). After ecAgNPs treatments, a marked increase was observed in microbial diversity compared to hcAgNPs treatments, regardless of the Fe(III) concentration in the sediment. The β-NTI index indicated that AgNPs had stronger impacts on phylogenetic distance of bacterial communities in sediments containing 1 mg/g Fe(III) than that containing 10 mg/g Fe(III). In sediments containing 1 mg/g Fe(III), ecAgNPs did not affect N₂O emission, but hcAgNPs significantly inhibited the emission of N₂O. However, in sediments containing 10 mg/g Fe(III), N₂O emission was significantly stimulated upon exposure to ecAgNPs, but the inhibition effect of hcAgNPs was barely observed. Functional prediction and real-time PCR analyses indicated that AgNPs and Fe(III) predominantly affected N₂O emissions by affecting the abundance of the nirK gene. Our results provide new insights into the ecological impacts of the co-existence of environmental concentration AgNPs and Fe(III) in altering microbial communities and nitrogen transformation functions in river sediments.

Effect of carbon-to-nitrogen ratio on simultaneous nitrification denitrification and phosphorus removal in a microaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor

In this study, long-term simultaneous nitrification denitrification (SND) and phosphorous removal were investigated in a continuous-flow microaerobic MBBR (mMBBR) operated at a dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 1.0 (±0.2) mg L^-1. The mMBBR performance was evaluated at different feed carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios (2.7, 4.2 and 5.6) and HRTs (2 days and 1 day). Stable long-term mMBBR operation and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and phosphorous (P-PO₄^3-) removal efficiencies up to 100%, 68% and 72%, respectively, were observed at a feed C/N ratio of 4.2. Lower TIN removal efficiency and unstable performance were observed at feed C/N ratios of 2.7 and 5.6, respectively. HRT decrease from 2 days to 1 day resulted in transient NH₄⁺ accumulation and higher NO₂^-/NO₃^- ratio in the effluent. Batch activity tests showed that biofilm cultivation at a feed C/N ratio of 4.2 resulted in the highest denitrifying activity (189 mg N gVSS^-1 d^-1), whereas the highest nitrifying activity (316 mg N gVSS^-1 d^-1) was observed after cultivation at a feed C/N ratio of 2.7. Thermodynamic modeling with Visual MINTEQ and stoichiometric evaluations revealed that P removal was mainly biological and can be attributed to the P-accumulating capacity of denitrifying bacteria.

Impact of granule size distribution on nitrous oxide production in autotrophic nitrogen removal granular reactor

This work applied an approach with reactor compartmentation and artificial diffusion to study the impact of granule size distribution on the autotrophic granular reactor performing partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation with focus on the nitrous oxide (N₂O) production. The results show that the microbial community and the associated N₂O production rates in the granular structure are significantly influenced by the granule size distribution. Heterotrophic bacteria growing on microbial decay products tend to be retained and contribute to N₂O consumption in relatively small granules. Ammonium-oxidizing bacteria are mainly responsible for N₂O production via two pathways in granules of different sizes. Under the conditions studied, such heterogeneity in the granular structure disappears when the number of granule size classes considered reaches >4, where heterotrophic bacteria are completely outcompeted in the granules. In general, larger granules account for a higher portion of the net N₂O production, while the trend regarding the volumetric contribution of each granule size class changes with a varied number of granule size classes, due to the different contributions of relevant N₂O production pathways (with the heterotrophic denitrification pathway being the most decisive). Overall, with the increasing extent of granule size distribution, the nitrogen removal efficiency decreases slightly but consistently, whereas the N₂O production factor increases until the number of granule size classes reaches 4 or above. Practical implications of this work include: i) granules should be controlled as well-distributed as possible in order to obtain high nitrogen removal while minimizing N₂O production; ii) granule size distribution should be considered carefully and specifically when modelling N₂O production/emission from the autotrophic nitrogen removal granular reactor.

Simulation tests of in situ groundwater denitrification with aquifer-buried biocathodes

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) application was proposed for a variety of specific uses, due to these systems’ characteristics: electrodes can act as virtually inexhaustible electron acceptors/donors, offering a growth-support surface for microorganisms, and stimulating naturally-occurring microbial degradation activities. In situ, groundwater denitrification therefore seems to be a potential candidate for their use. In this study, buried biocathodes were operated in laboratory settings for the simulation of in situ groundwater denitrification. Two alternative configurations were tested: biocathode buried in sand, and biocathode buried in gravel. A control test with a biocathode in absence of sand/gravel was also performed. In all the cases, biocathodes were driven by power supply or potentiostat to guarantee a steady electron flux to the cathode. The presence of sand and gravel strongly influenced the denitrification process: in both configurations, accumulation of intermediate N-forms was detected, suggesting that the denitrification process was only partially achieved. In addition, a significant decrease (in the 20–36% range) in nitrate removal rates was measured in sand and gravel setups compared to the control reactor; this issue could be attributed to lack of recirculation that limited contact between substrate and electrode-adherent biofilm. Biocathodes buried in gravel obtained better results than those buried in sand due to the lower packing of the medium. The results of this study suggest that, in order to achieve successful in situ treatment, special design of submerged-biocathodic BESs is necessary.

Evaluation of the Nitrous Oxide Emission Reduction Potential of an Aerobic Bioreactor Packed with Carbon Fibres for Swine Wastewater Treatment

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that is emitted from wastewater treatment plants. To reduce emissions of N2O from swine wastewater treatment plants, we constructed an experimental aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibres (ca. 1 m3 bioreactor) as an alternative to conventional activated sludge treatment. The N2O emission factor for the aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibres (CF) was 0.002 g N2O-N/g TN-load and the value for the typical activated sludge (AS) reactor was 0.013 g N2O-N/g TN-load. The CF treatment method achieved more than 80% reduction of N2O emissions, compared with the AS treatment method. The experimental introduction of a CF carrier into an actual wastewater treatment plant also resulted in a large reduction in N2O generation. Specifically, the N2O emission factors decreased from 0.040 to 0.005 g N2O-N/g TN-load following application of the carrier. This shows that it is possible to reduce N2O generation by more than 80% by using a CF carrier during the operation of an actual wastewater treatment plant. Some bacteria from the phylum Chloroflexi, which are capable of reducing N2O emissions, were detected at a higher frequency in the biofilm on the CF carrier than in the biofilm formed on the AS reactor.

Substrate Diffusion within Biofilms Significantly Influencing the Electron Competition during Denitrification

A common and long-existing operational issue of wastewater denitrification is the unexpected accumulation of nitrite (NO₂^-) that could suppress the activity of various microorganisms involved in biological wastewater treatment process and nitrous oxide (N₂O) that could emit as a potent greenhouse gas. Recently, it has been confirmed that the accumulation of these denitrification intermediates in biological wastewater treatment process is greatly influenced by the electron competition between the four denitrification steps. However, little is known about this in biofilm systems. In this work, we applied a mathematical model that links carbon oxidation and nitrogen reduction processes through a pool of electron carriers, to assess electron competition in denitrifying biofilms. Simulations were performed comprehensively at seven combinations of electron acceptor addition scheme (i.e., simultaneous addition of one, two or three among nitrate (NO₃^-), NO₂^-, and N₂O) to compare the effect of electron competition on NO₃^-, NO₂^- and N₂O reduction. Overall, the effects of substrate loading, biofilm thickness and effective diffusion coefficients on electron competition are not always intuitive. Model simulations show that electron competition was intensified due to the substrate load limitation (from 120 to 20 mg COD/L) and increasing biofilm thicknesses (from 0.1 to 1.6 mm) in most cases, where electrons were prioritized to nitrite reductase because of the insufficient electron donor availability in the biofilm. In contrast, increasing effective diffusion coefficients did not pose a significant effect on electron competition and only increased electrons distributed to nitrite reductase when both NO₂^- and N₂O are added.

Response of greenhouse gas emissions and microbial community dynamics to temperature variation during partial nitrification

This study investigated the greenhouse gas emission characteristics and microbial community dynamics with the variation of temperature during partial nitrification. Low temperature weakened nitrite accumulation, and partial nitrification would shift to complete nitrification easily at 15 °C. Based on CO₂ equivalents (CO₂-eq), partial nitrification process released 2.7 g of greenhouse gases per gMLSS per cycle, and N₂O accounted for more than 98% of the total CO₂-eq emission. The total CO₂-eq emission amount at 35 °C was 45.6% and 153.4% higher than that at 25 °C and 15 °C, respectively. During partial nitrification, the microbial community diversity greatly declined compared with seed sludge. However, the diversity was enhanced at low temperature. The abundance of Betaproteobacteria at class level increased greatly during partial nitrification. Proteobacteria abundance declined while Nitrospira raised at low temperature. The nosZ community abundance was not affected by temperature, although N₂O emission was varied with the operating temperature.